The Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) 2020 Quest Mental Health Task Force produced a PSA to launch awareness on the importance of mental health in today’s climate. A recent survey conducted by a leading national mental health organization, Active Minds, revealed that 74% of high school students report having experienced stress or anxiety as a result of COVID-19. Moreover, one in five adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year, and 84% of adults say they would be uncomfortable talking to their employer about their own mental health.
The LGH task force solicited responses to a series of prompts from the 2020 Quest class to better understand the stigma surrounding mental health and how to normalize the conversation.
The goal of the task force is to start the conversation around what mental health means to organizations, employees and the general public. The video can be accessed at https://youtu.be/1l6RRbmdrxk and shared on social media channels with a message that mental health is a normal part of life and working together, we can reduce the stigma.
If you would like to use this PSA as part of your organization’s marketing efforts, please contact Kara Fenn LGH VP for Development & Marketing directly. (Contact information below).
Members of the LGH Mental Health Task Force included twelve professionals across diverse sectors including nonprofit, government, education, and business. Over the course of 10 months, we built upon our leadership skills and explored the topic of mental health within our communities. During this challenging time in our local and national landscape, where we face an awakening to racial and economic injustices in our country as well as the impact of a global pandemic, it is crucial to engage one another around this important topic. Learn more about Quest here.
Task Force Members:
N. Chineye Anako, Trinity Health Of New England
Todd Atcherson, Cigna
Jonathan Basso, American Red Cross
Corrie Betts, Youth Challenge of CT
Rosaliz Cassells, American Eagle Financial Credit Union
Taylor Dauphin, Kipp Foundation
Cynthia Gentry, The Village for Families & Children
Stephanie Hertz, Goodwin University
Brian Heslin, Adelbrook Behavioral & Developmental Services
Michelle Leibovitz, Rich Wright Productions
Lori Loening, Goodwin University
Alexander Norris, Aetna, A CVS Company
Kara Fenn, Vice President for Development & Marketing, Leadership Greater Hartford
Kara.fenn@leadershipgh.org. 860-206-5065.